Caprice of Theirs
by LilacPrimaDonna
Summary: After the morning phone call, Amu's reasons to stay with Ikuto disappears.
1. i

**i. Caprice of Theirs**

"... Go to hell, Ikuto. We're done."

"Wait, Amu! Listen to m-"

An irritated pink-haired girl threw her phone onto the bed and continued packing her clothes into a suitcase.

"What the heck! Augh, the jerk!" She angrily ranted about her absent boyfriend under her breath for the nth time. The rage built up over the weeks, and she finally let it out with those last words to him.

Amu shoved the last of her favorite sweaters and sequined tops into the worn suitcase and zipped it up with a satisfying close. She used her sleeve to wipe the sweat off her forehead then stood with her hands on her hips before heaving her closet-in-one-baggage off the carpeted floor. The frustrated girl cursed as she remembered her toiletries and other essentials in another bulky bag near the bed.

Frustrated, she dropped the heavy object and walked back into the room, collapsing on the cool surface of the bed. It took her a moment to catch her breath. She was so out of shape that she only got the suitcase past the doorway of the bedroom.

Taking a deep breath, Amu gathered all the pent-up anger and let it out in a gust of hot air. Her eye twitched in annoyance.

It wasn't that big of a deal with her and Ikuto, her stupid boyfriend. It was just… complicated. And stupid. He was stupid. A big, fat idiot.

Thank goodness he hadn't been cheating on her. Though, he wouldn't even have it in him to cheat on her in the first place. And she could have dealt with it by lighting a match to his beloved violin, perfectly set against the wall at the moment. What a lovely sight that would be.

Ikuto was too quiet and busy to be paying attention to anything, other than work, that is. He wouldn't come home from work until after midnight. Busy all the time, 24/7. What the hell.

'He's even too busy for me. Why is he even with me?' The question lingered in her mind.

The girl dismissed the thought as to not waste more time thinking about her idiot boyfriend and continued with her struggle out her apartment door. Hm, but then she would have to pull it into her car trunk and try to shut the bulking lid.

Just when she pushed all the baggage onto her welcome mat, Amu heard a short beep over her head.

She dismissed the beep for the neighbor's doorbell fixture and stopped to breathe for awhile. Maybe a few more hours. The tired girl felt like napping.

Why on earth did she park her car a block away instead of a few feet from the apartment entrance? Oh... right. It's probably because there were no more parking spaces in front of the apartment entrance.

"Well, I'm too tired. Screw it." The pink-haired girl threw her suitcases, with much effort, back in her house and into the empty closet by the door. She pushed the doors closed before using her fingers to comb her hair. Her head was spinning from the weight of her stuff. 'I want to sleep. Maybe at Rima's, though...'

Hours later, Amu wasn't at Rima's house. In fact, the young woman never made it to Rima's. After locking up the house, she took her dark blue sports car and aimlessly drove around the city. Her sleek car was currently being parked near a dilapidated office building.

It took an hour for Amu to decide what to waste her time doing, or rather, go back home even later than her almost-ex-beau. And then she found it. A girl's best friend is shopping. Aside from Rima, of course.

It started with some windowshopping till Amu's shopaholic self got the better of her.

Simply put, the end was spending hours upon hours on buying clothes she aready had-jeans and tops, and the like- jewelry she will probably never wear, and wigs. Lots of wigs along with an entire set of gothic lolita accessories. Hey, old habits die hard.

A few more hours passed, so Amu took a break at a nearby sandwich shop, where she sat and pigged out on nearly half their menu. Then she bought ten more delicious sandwiches and pastries to save for later. 'All for myself. And I don't have to worry about Ikuto making fun of me anymore. Hah!'

When Amu ran out of cash while browsing the bookstore, she began to use Ikuto's credit card. A parting gift would definitely be heartfelt- a huge bill from buying successful love stories to pay off on his end.

Amu checked the time on her new silver-encrusted watch. She decided the sun would nearly be down around now. Next would be a quick stop to her favorite bar.

The girl quickly gathered her freshly-purchased books and grinned at the stacks. Then she cringed at the imbalance of all her bags after pulling at the handles. Amu felt a twinge of annoyance at how heavy one side of bags was, its awkward weight dragging down her arm.

However, the book bags she received was big enough to carry the rest of her clothes and accessories, save for the brunette wig in the other bag.

'The only way to carry that would be over my hair...' With that thought, she dropped her stuff onto a passing café table and adjusted the dark hair on her head with her phone as a mirror. Once the straps were done in and the hair properly brushed in place, Amu threw her bags into each other, evening the balance.

Bags were thrown into the passenger seat when she arrived at her parking spot. She figured that Ikuto wouldn't be home yet- as usual- and didn't want to see his face anyway, so she took off to her next destination- a casual yet pricey bar called Starlight Roof, with the finest cocktail drinks to drown her sorrows in. It was a perfect remedy to temporarily rid her mind of Ikuto.

Before going inside, the female grabbed a water bottle from the trunk and stuffed them into her handbag. If she wanted to drive back home safely, she'd need to stay level-headed by watering down her drinks. Never drink and drive, kids.

Amu then locked up and strolled into bar.

The bar was only lit with dim yet warm lights of all colors. It gave a cozy, homey feeling, unlike all those shady bars she used to go to way back in college.

Starlight Roof was more like a nighttime cafe. Well, with alcohol and other bar necessities, but still, sophisticated and comfortable to the point where she didn't have to worry about sketchy company.

As Amu sat down at one of the swivel chairs in front of the bartender,she noticed a mess of dark hair next to her. Surrounding the person were shots nearly emptied of chrystalline beer or spilled over.

The familiar shade of blue gave Amu a clue as to who it might have been. Three guesses who it was.

She ignored the nagging voice in her mind telling her it was a fated meeting. Amu introduced herself.

"Hey hot stuff. Care to drink with me?" Disguises do come in handy. Good thing Amu still had her wig on.

Ikuto slurred incoherently and rolled to face Amu. His face was flushed pink.

She chuckled. "What are you doing here, mister?" Amu swirled a blood red cocktail between her fingers. The liquid quickly turned a light pink as she mixed it with water.

Leaning in, Ikuto stared intensely at Amu, who felt a blush rise at his close proximity. "Your eyes are prett-y... " Hiccups started with his statement. "Like my pretty girlfriend."

The navy-haired male had his cheek pressed against the metallic counter. He languidly looked around as far as his neck would go. That was when Amu noticed his blue eyes were bloodshot, almost as if he'd been-"I want my pre-tty girlfriend back. My pretty girlfriend left me. "

His hands shot out to grab another drink only to find it empty. The drunk still flicked it towards his open mouth for any last drops. Then he set it down to glare into the tiny glass cups within his vision.

At this, Amu was entertained. She laughed evilly under her breath. In a whiny voice, the female said, "What for? You're such a hubby, darlin'."

Completely out of it, Ikuto grumbled a reply and brushed her off with a turn off his head.

"Wow, antisocial much?" With a flick of her wrist, Amu glanced down at her watch. '11:10..?-ish. Perfect time to go home, I guess.'

Just then, Ikuto called out in a slur, "Bartender! Bardenerr! Bartner?"

He raised his arm languidly in an attempt to bring forth the person supplying his alcohol.

Amu snorted. What a knee slapper. "Hey, hey, calm down, sweetie, we're going to my place."

She dug into her purse for her wallet and pulled out some crisp twenties. Amu quickly threw them on the counter to pay for the both of them. She hung her purse off the crook of her arm to grab his arm away from the bar counter and drag him out of the bar.

The doors of her car clicked open with her keys narrowly slipping out of her grasp. While holding Ikuto up with much difficulty, Amu pushed him into her car and shut the door before opening her own door.

Her hands gripped the wheel as a small yawn escaped her lips. Something crossed her mind about Ikuto's state. The now passed out male could possibly heave all over her beautiful black leather seats. Based on the number of shots he had, Amu decided to roll down the windows and throw a few paper bags in the back.

Once she started up her car, Ikuto suddenly sat up from his lying position and hung his head near the window. What she didn't expect was what he did next.

He shouted, "I miss youu! I love you, Amuuu! Amuu, wherefore art thouu..." On repeat.

That was her cue to drive faster to save herself from the embarrassment. The girl, with her face burning off, had an urge to hit him upside the head for making so much noise.

When she finally reached her house, Amu quickly threw open the car door and shoved him onto the sidewalk. Thank the heavens for whomever decided to park elsewhere from the apartment, otherwise... well, she'd have left him locked up in the car. 'Serves him right...'

Slamming the door with her foot, the pink-haired girl half-dragged, half-carried Ikuto into their apartment. She didn't want to... but she did. Maybe their relationship was worth salvaging. It wasn't like she hated him. It really wasn't. She loved him to pieces, but it was more of her questioning if he loved her.

Amu made it into her house with Ikuto, without breaking her back, and decided to take a long, warm shower.

Half an hour later, she stepped out of the bathroom in a white robe, warm steam rolling from her exposed skin and the shower. Amu tightened the sash around her waist and wrapped her hair in a fluffy towel, feeling refreshed from her bath.

All was quiet in the small apartment, save for the ticking of the clock and the Ikuto's heavy breathing.

More relaxed than before, Amu remembered the pretty little wig in her car and hurried to retrieve it. When she returned, a brush was in hand with the wig in the other. She sat on the edge of the living room table and brushed before acknowledging Ikuto's presence.

Amu began to remove Ikuto's shoes. "All hail Princess Ikuto," she said with a snort. As if in response, he made a disgruntled noise. Amu rolled her eyes at him and began working on unbuttoning his shirt.

It's not like she hadn't done anything like it before, but her face was instantly flushed the rosy shade. Besides, if she left him in the clothes he had on, it might be uncomfortable, and she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. Why yes, this was a completely valid reason for her to strip her boyfriend.

The other reason might be that she wasn't completely sober from the tiny amount of alcohol earlier. She could blame it on alcohol tolerance - all it takes is an 'I can't hold my liquor' to be believable.

Just as Amu reached the third button, a hand slapped away hers, thus stopping her from taking advantage of Ikuto's state. He turned his body away from her. Throwing a glare at the view of blue hair, Amu leaned over him to continue where she left off.

The next couple of buttons were uninterrupted. That is, until Ikuto's hand stopped further movement as it laid atop her hand. She dropped the shirt.

Amu froze and looked up to see the beautiful pair of blue eyes she fell in love with. He looked more awake and sober with his eyes set on her. There was a serious expression on his face.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Surprised and somewhat confused, Amu's mind drifted to the list of excuses she provided for herself. Her face felt hotter. "Uhm..."

Her train of thought was broken when Ikuto continued, occasionally fading out to open his eyes, "What do you not understand? I have a girlfriend... and I love her more than anybody else. Stop trying to hit on me and let me go home to Amu..."

With that, his eyes closed and his head fell back onto the couch.

Conflicted. Amu felt conflicted with her emotions- should she still be mad at him for leaving her alone most days or feel happy over what he just said?

Amu pulled her robe tighter around her body as she sat down on the arm of a couch. Her hand made its way to Ikuto's soft hair and began to mindlessly stroke his hair. Her eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Then again, did the questions really matter? The problems didn't get in the way of her love for him nor did the frustration and her quick judgement and the little miscellaneous things she was always angry about with him.

Amu stood up and sauntered upstairs to their comfortable-looking bed. She dragged pillows and blankets downstairs and laid a blanket on top of Ikuto after stuffing a pillow under his head. She grabbed her own set and settled down on the loveseat beside Ikuto's couch.

She turned to look at Ikuto's sleeping figure. All she did was go around in circles today. Her immediate plans to leave weren't the best of ideas. Amu quietly laughed to herself and laid back onto her pillow.

With a smile on her lips, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

_I love him too much to leave._

* * *

><p><strong>It's still October 31st. In Hawaii. xD<br>**

**And I didn't fall asleep and wake up to morning sunshine yet.  
><strong>

**... I feel like some stuff was offensive and ambiguous... a little sad. o.o**

**Sweet. Like Halloween candy. Holla. **

**Questions, comments, or concerns? c:**

**12.31.14  
>I have no idea what the heck I was talking about in the AN.  
>This is an edited version, BTW. The ending's better, I guess. <strong>

**Yay for 2015. Holla! I'm super excited.  
><strong>

**2 hours left for me, so... :3  
><strong>

**Happy New Year's Eve! **


	2. ii

**ii. Caprice of Theirs**

Ikuto woke up. He'd been up for awhile. His eyes finally opened to see a warm blanket was wrapped around him as he laid on the couch. The sunlight pouring in from the window created a halo on his head. He could smell chocolate pancakes that lingered from the time he woke up. He was facing a tall glass of water and some aspirin.

He was home.

Ikuto thought it was a dream. All he remembered after his first drink was, well, nothing. Other than a hazy conversation he had. He was never good with alcohol.

Then his beloved Amu came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of the pancakes that still tickled his nose. She was staring at the pancakes rather than looking at him.

Ikuto sat up hurriedly, and there it was- the pain of his head splitting in two. The hangover finally hit him.

* * *

><p>"How did you know I was leaving?" Ikuto stopped mid-chew and looked up from his half-eaten pancakes to find her intensely looking at him.<p>

He searched his mind for something more believable than the actual answer. "... Secret."

"What?"

"It's a secret."

"Oh really, then you wouldn't mind me leaving?"

"... No. I mind." He stared back at her. His face was expressionless, but Amu saw the flicker of fear in his eyes.

"Okay. Why were you at the club before work usually ends?"

At this, he was silent. Ikuto was stuck between telling her what really went on during work and... not telling. He didn't think it wasn't anything too bad, so...

"I got sent home for the day."

Amu blinked. "... You what?" Her mind was processing the statement. "You mean fired?"

"No. Just sent home. I got distracted from work."

"What the hell were you distracted with?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Amu always believed Ikuto to be the typical workaholic, a complete opposite from the procrastinating college student she was. What he was saying seemed absurd.

"I was watching something instead of doing my work." Amu struggled to comprehend what he was saying. Mainly because it sounded ridiculous.

"What's so much more important to 'watch'-" she made air quotes, "than work?"

"You. Well, you in the built-in house camera. Much more important than work," he nonchalantly replied as he took another bite of his breakfast.

Amu paused her own eating. Her eyebrow twitched. "The hell? A camera? There aren't any cameras in the house."

Her voice was raised by the end of her statement. What an outrageous lie he was telling. Nobody lies to Amu and gets away with it. The desire to smack Ikuto's face was overwhelming.

Ikuto watched Amu's face. "You think I'm lying."

Her voice grew higher in pitch. "Yes, I think you're lying. What the hell do you take me for, Ikuto?!"

Just when Amu thought she was done being angry at him, he got her angry again. She was about to go on another angry rant like yesterday.

He patted her shoulder, catching her eye with the intense gaze of his.

"Just hear me out, Amu. I can prove it to you." He pointed along the walls of the entrance door. "The camera is wired there. That's why there are cords all over the entrance."

"... Wait. How and when did you do this?" Amu felt weirded out by this revelation as she continued staring at white cords around the door. Was she that scatterbrained? "That's creepy. Stalking your own girlfriend. Why would you do that?"

"Well, Amu. I don't see you enough these days-"

"No shit. Seriously? I thought we've established this yesterday when I told you to go to hell."

"Okay, fine." He raised his hands in surrender before lowering them. "Anyhow, I don't see you enough because of work. Like always. I'm sorry, Amu."

"Not forgiven yet."

"'Yet'. Well, why I have a camera is because I don't see you enough these days. I miss you, but I'm too busy with work that I can't see you as it is. I missed your face enough to put in cameras."

"Oh, so instead of working, you're watching me like the crazy stalker you are."

"No, dear, I have too much work to see you. The camera's what's keeping me alive in that stuffy office." He put his head in his hands. "Then I saw you and the suitcase after our phone call. God Amu, I thought I was going to lose you. I'm sorry for not being with you all the time."

Her cheeks heated up during his speech for forgiveness. She thought she was the only one who felt that way. "Uh... Oh, suitcase. I forgot. It's in the closet."

"And Amu, you ran over one of the wires with that suitcase, so when the screen turned black, I thought you were gone forever." He grabbed her hand, causing the fork in her hand to drop. The corner of his lips curled up. "I said I was sorry... Can't you stay with me?"

By the look on his face, she knew that he knew he was forgiven the moment she stuttered.

She groaned. He won. He was just being corny on purpose.

"Sure thing, buddy." Amu pinched the bridge of her nose, wanting to erase her mistake and save her from the embarrassment she got herself into.

"Why don't you call me your hubby, like last night?" He winked at her.

Amu immediately blushed and screeched, "What?! Hell no! Why do you remember that?"

Ikuto laughed.

Love was crazy and they both knew it. It was the reason for her impulsiveness in leaving him. It was the reason he immediately came home to her. It was why they stayed together even with the ups and downs. They just loved each other like crazy.

* * *

><p><strong>Well. That was my somewhat awful attempt of a cliché ending. Cool. :P<br>Amuto is super complicated. And this story... well, it's only been two months..?  
>It's been fun. ^.^''<strong>

**Oh, and Happy belated New Year's. 2015 FTW. *-* I'm still excited about the new year. **

**Leave any questions/comments/concerns in a review. c:**


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